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It finally happened

For those that don't know, I have been trying to hike and hang since late winter early spring but a heart attack in Feburary changed all that. Another heart attack in July postponed it again. But finally on the extended Labor Day weekend it happened. Thursday, I hiked about 6 miles and then hung in the woods for the night then hiked out the next day. I know it's not much for you experienced hangers but it sure was good for me. My HH worked fine, with the temps here in middle Tennessee going from the mid-low 90's down to about 68-70 during the night. I did take a couple of different maybe hammock fans to use for the warm temps. On one the batteries didn't last long and the other is probably heavier than most will want to use. However I want to try them both one more time before passing judgement on them. Something else I used that worked good for me was a Exped multipad. This pad is 40" x 79"x 1/8" EVA foam with a ripstop nylon covering. I spent a night in the hammock back in May (20 steps from our camper in the campground) and used the blue Walmart pad. It got down to about 36 degrees. Even though I slept Ok using a cheap 20 degree Bass Pro Shop sleeping bag and a fleece bag liner. I struggled with the blue pad and didn't really like it. So when I saw this multipad at REI, I thought I would try it. Because of the size of this thing I felt it could be folded a lot of different ways to meet the different tempertures you find camping the 4 seasons of the year. After using it I think some others might want to try it, I really liked it. It rolls up to a 20"x5" size and weighs less and is less bulky than the blue pad. I tried it on Saturday night next to the camper again. Because of the heat of early night I left it rolled up but brought it in the hammock with me, about 11:00 I could feel the night temp start to drop so I wanted to add the mat. I unrolled and folded it to the size and thickness I felt I would need and was able to place it under me with very little trouble without getting out of the hammock. I slept fine all night with just the fleece liner as an overquilt. Here is a link for those that wants to know more. http://moontrail.com/exped-multimat.php It is a bit pricey but to me well worth it. I've spent a total of three nights in the hammock now and I really like it so I will probably start to make some changes to the basic hammock like buckles or something to make hanging easier. In that direction has anyone ever tried or considered these? http://www.sailgb.com/p/amazonas_microrope/ I don't know if these would work and I'm not necessarly planning to go this way just something I ran across. Anyway thanks for putting up with me going on so much and I hope to get to meet some of you at some of the future hangings. tnhillbilly

TNHillbilly, congrats on getting back outside. I'm glad you enjoyed your hike and your hang. Don't worry about the length of the hike, that's not the issue. What maters most is what you saw, the sounds you heard, the breeze against your face, and most important of all, what you felt in your heart as you made it. As a nurse with a background in taking care of cardiac patients in open heart ICU, I'm glad to see that your recovery is going well, keep it up. Good for you!

"If you play a Nicleback song backwards, you'll hear messages from the devil. Even worse, if you play it forward, you'll hear Nickleback." - Dave Grohl

For those that don't know, I have been trying to hike and hang since late winter early spring but a heart attack in Feburary changed all that. Another heart attack in July postponed it again. But finally on the extended Labor Day weekend it happened. Thursday, I hiked about 6 miles and then hung in the woods for the night then hiked out the next day.

That's great! I'm sure Slowhike is with me when I say that it's great to get back in the game after you've been sidelined by an illness or injury. I'm glad to see that your recovery is going well. Keep up the good work.

Brian
...and there came to be a day, all too soon, that I became aware that I could travel no more on my long journey. Though I did not arrive where I had planned, I believe that here is exactly where I am supposed to be...

That's great! I'm sure Slowhike is with me when I say that it's great to get back in the game after you've been sidelined by an illness or injury. I'm glad to see that your recovery is going well. Keep up the good work.

Funny thing. The "illness or injury" is what got me started in the first place!

In 1996, I had two strokes. I didn't have insurance, so the doc said that there was no PT available without a big outlay from me. He suggested walking around the neighborhood. That got old fast, so I tried jogging; my old knees didn't like it very much. I went to the local State Park and started day-hiking, and then bought a terrible pack and started doing multi-days. 11 years and multiple thousands of miles later, I have no physical effects of the strokes left, even though the brain/thinking part is permanent, duh.

Moral of the story: the Big Oops is not the big end. It can be just the beginning!

yep, when i broke my back & multi ribs back in 02, my therapy was walking in the neighborhood w/ the trekking poles. i got up to 11 miles.
then 3 months & 6 days after the fall, thank the Lord, i was able to backpack about 4 miles into the mt rogers area, va, for an overnighter.
i carried a 25lb pack. i thought that was really light weight back then, even though my friends were carrying some of my other stuff
and that was... (gulp) pre-hammock
walking in the woods is great therapy!

Thanks guys for all your encourgement. I agree a walk in the woods is the best therapy. If I had done more of it, instead of letting life get in the way of walking in the woods I probably wouldn't have had a heart attack in the 1st place. As far as the microrope I mentioned, I do use the straps that came with my HH. I thought about attaching the hammock rope to the aluminium pin then running the pin through the strap loop coming from the tree, for a quick adjustment point. Sort of opposite of the picture in the link. What do you think? tnhillbilly

.As far as the microrope I mentioned, I do use the straps that came with my HH. I thought about attaching the hammock rope to the aluminium pin then running the pin through the strap loop coming from the tree, for a quick adjustment point. Sort of opposite of the picture in the link. What do you think? tnhillbilly

it seems that you might run into adjustability problems maybe.
even though you could adjust the rope coming from the hammock, you would have limitations on the webbing that goes around the tree (if i'm understanding what you're saying)... unless you use something like a slap strap w/ several loops to choose from.